You might have seen our story on Windows Phone 7 certified memory cards and you might have even followed our coverage since we first brought this issue to your attention.

Well, the first ever Windows Phone 7 certified memory card is called SanDisk and it’s an 8GB class 2 microSD card. This comes right off Samsung’s Support website — heads-up Samsung Focus owners — where we also find out that Windows Phone 7 compatible microSD cards will be branded as “Windows Phone 7 Compatible” on the packaging. Is this marketing or what? Thoughts [...]

Australian developer Chris Walsh recently found a method to run so-called native code on the platform indicating that jailbreaking Windows Phone 7 could be possible, though it’s a first step in a huge process.

Same developer seems to have conquered another OS tower as he now tweeted that he’s got registry and file system access. The tweet also mentions that this was achieved on Samsung and HTC devices and the developer is committed to getting that on LG handsets too. Are these hacks device dependent? Normally they shouldn’t be but, as with the case of USB [...]

We’ve mentioned the possibility of seeing, sooner or later, Windows Phone 7 certified memory cards with all the buzz around this issue and even AT&T is telling its Windows Phone 7 subscribers that are device owners — read Focus — to hold back until certified cards will be available.

Microsoft has published a knowledge base article entitled Windows Phone 7 Secure Digital Card Limitations (Revision 5.1 as of November 9) which doesn’t clarify the issue to the extent most of us wanted or expected. While talking about some Windows Phone 7 handsets that [...]

AT&T has issued a statement advising Samsung Focus owners not to use microSD cards in their devices until such time as Windows Phone 7-certified cards hit the market. This follows reports that customers were being told basically the same thing at AT&T retail locations. As published by Engadget, the full statement reads:

“Windows Phone 7 requires a certified high-speed microSD card for optimal performance. Because the Samsung Focus is expandable via a microSD card, only microSD memory cards certified for Windows Phone 7 should be used. This information is not [...]

Seen the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 TV ads lately? You know, the “Really” campaign while jogging, at baseball and in bed? It’s time for some Windows Phone 7 love from AT&T, the premier carrier for the platform.

Samsung Focus and HTC Surround are both starring in a separate, device dedicated TV ad that seems to emphasize on the winning features for each device. The Samsung Focus is the Windows Phone with beauty and brains “that gets you to the stuff you love faster” while the HTC Surround will surely amaze you with its stage presence and Dolby [...]

For months now Microsoft has stated that Windows Phone 7 will not be able to do tethering without the approval of the carrier. Of course that wouldn’t stop us from finding the back door, and it seems as though Samsung left the door wide open.

The Samsung Focus already has an accessible storage card slot, why not an accessible USB tethering ability too? Although the device will not do Wi-Fi tethering at this time it is more than capable of doing USB tethering. To set up this on a Samsung Focus you will need to go into the diagnostic menu:

AT&T Senior Vice President of Devices Jeff Bradley stated some two weeks ago that “devices will support the addition of up to a 32GB class 2 (or higher) microSD card. You need to insert the card before you power up the device the first time so that the operating system can map it as available memory to maximize its utilization. This is outlined in the Quick Start Guide you receive in the box”. In addition, according to page one of the Samsung Focus manual, it is possible to insert the memory card and the procedure is also outlined guiding users how to achieve [...]

So this being Windows Phone 7 launch day in the US and all, we thought it might be a good opportunity to share something we noticed in the footnotes to AT&T’s and Samsung’s Focus press release: in reference to the bullet point “Expandable Memory Slot supporting up to 32GB,” the small print reads that “Focus is only compatible with microSD cards certified for Windows Phone 7.” Well this is the first we’ve heard of cards specifically certified for use with the new operating system; from what we can gather, Microsoft’s public stance is [...]

The day is here! After a long time of waiting and anticipation, November 8, the date for U.S. Windows Phone 7 device launch has finally arrived and you can grab a brand new handset running the highly anticipated mobile OS from Microsoft. We’ll show you what’s available, where and how much it will cost.

There are basically three handsets available today: HTC HD7, HTC Surround and Samsung Focus. There was word on Dell Venue Pro November 8 availability from Microsoft but so far the device is still teasing us from the shadows as it is late to appear online.

Today is the day many of us have been waiting for, the date for Windows Phone 7 device launch and since it’s already November 8, AT&T just launched its Windows Phone 7 website featuring the HTC Surround, Samsung Focus and LG Quantum.

Those of you who don’t want to actually go to the store can purchase the Surround and Focus straight from the carrier. Both handsets run for $199.99 on a two year contract and require a $15/month data plan (with both priced at $499.99 with no commitment purchase). While the LG Quantum is still on preorder, the Surround and Focus are [...]

At this point it should really come as no surprise — considering that sales begin in less than a week — but it’s worth mentioning that neither AT&T nor T-Mobile will be taking pre-orders for their inventory of Windows Phone 7 launch devices. We could previously surmise from T-Mobile’s HTC HD7 landing page that there would be no pre-order period — a helpful notification feature is offered in case you forget when the 8th falls this month — and now AT&T has responded to a tweet by stating that handset availability would be on a “first [...]

AT&T must not have gotten the memo from Microsoft regarding the horrible things that could happen if users attempt to swap out microSD cards in Windows Phone 7 devices, as a company vice president has apparently explicitly stated that the method for storage upgrades will be detailed in the handsets’ quick start guides. According to user eshudnow from the AT&T forums, Senior Vice President of Devices Jeff Bradley responded to his query by saying that “the devices will support the addition of up to a 32GB class 2 (or higher) microSD card. You need to insert the card [...]

Here’s a look at some of the applications that AT&T has added. These are not the bloated add-on applications you might have expected. They can actually be quite useful. If you want, you can easily tap and hold on the application icon in the programs listing and choose “Uninstall”. That will remove the application from the phone permanently that is unless you do a Factory Reset, at which point the original AT&T applications will get reinstalled in the background during first boot.

There’s a company called Audience that makes a voice processor to suppress noise that is being used in at least two Windows Phone 7 handsets, the HTC Surround and the Samsung Focus. Noise cancellation isn’t new to the smartphone world. By our count, the iPhone 4 (demo), Nexus One, Droid X (demo), and Samsung Captive all utilize dual microphones (with Audience’s chip) to provide noise suppression. Even HTC’s Touch Pro2 had the chip for use in “conference room” mode. In our tests, the Audience chip does a pretty fantastic job at cutting down on ambient [...]

The Omnia 7 is the European version of the Windows Phone 7 Samsung Focus coming to AT&T. The Omnia 7 actually has the proper bands to do AT&T 3G right out of the box, so you can have your choice between the two (as long as you’re OK with paying the unsubsidized price for the Omnia 7). What’s different between the two? The main difference is the design: the Omnia 7 is more squared around the edges, and the Start button is a physical button. Also, the Omnia 7 wil be free of carrier bloatware. Clove has the device listed at £425, which is about $675, with a shipping [...]

We’re still catching our breath from the whirlwind of news that swept across the smartphone plains yesterday in the form of Windows Phone 7 launch details, and we imagine that some of you are a little overwhelmed as well. Therefore we thought we’d recap all of our coverage for you in this handy guide, along with charts detailing specs of all the initial devices plus distribution plans broken down by country and carrier. We hope that you enjoyed our WP7 articles as much as we enjoyed bringing them to you, and we’d like to thank everyone for tuning in to Pocketnow for [...]

May have cried fowl after we heard back at Mobile World Congress that one of the limitations of Windows Phone 7 would be that it would not support removable storage. This was so that the user didn’t have to deal with removable storage, etc. But alas! Today at the Windows Phone 7 launch event, Adam and I found that the Samsung Focus does indeed have a space for a microSD card. What’s going on here? As the AT&T rep explained, the Focus merges the 8GB internal storage with whatever is on the microSD card. When you go to buy a Focus at an AT&T store, you’ll have [...]

The Samsung Focus, which previously went under the name Cetus or Omnia 7 (correction: the European Samsung Windows Phone 7 launch device will be called the Omnia 7), has a large 4.0″ WVGA AMOLED display that not only looks fantastic but has a high level of sensitivity (greater than any other Windows Phone 7 device we played with today). It’s also one of the thinnest smartphones in the world, and boy does it feel light in-hand. The Focus also seems to be one of the most snappy Windows Phone 7 devices of the nine that were launched today: jumping between screens was very [...]

You might remember seeing the HTC Mondrian starring in the alleged AT&T Windows Phone 7 Ad we posted about, ad which was taken down from YouTube shortly after being uploaded.

Well, after Microsoft’s official launch of the Windows Phone 7 platform earlier on today, we have the chance to see the first two official Windows Phone 7 TV ads. They both feature the new Samsung Focus which will be coming to AT&T on November 8 for $199,99. Check out the videos below and tell us your thoughts:

AT&T has revealed that the Windows Phone 7-powered Samsung Focus, formerly known as the Samsung Cetus i917, will hit its lineup on November 8th for $199.99 on contract. Basically the same functionally as the Omnia 7 we’ve seen quite a bit, the Focus features a four-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display (just like on the Galaxy S phones), 1GHz processor, five megapixel camera, and, according to Engadget, “support for microSD cards up to 16GB.”

This is the first we’ve heard of user changeable storage being allowed on Chassis 1-compliant Windows Phone 7 [...]

AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets CEO Ralph De La Vega has just introduced a U-Verse streaming service for Windows Phone 7 devices. Apparently home U-Verse subscribers will have free access to content on demand on their handsets, while non-subscribers can pay a monthly fee for access to the streams. For now this service will be restricted to Windows Phone 7 handsets.

Along with the streaming Netflix app we’ve already seen for this platform, it seems that users are going to have lots of options for accessing top-notch video content.